A 27-year-old man who hacked his neighbour to death in Ogun, Ejike Okata, has been arrested at a motor park in Ijebu-Ode area of the state.
Punch reports that the suspect, who hails from Onueke in the Eza South Local Government Area of Ebonyi, was arrested 48 hours after he allegedly killed his 50-year-old neighbour, Adeyiba Oladipo, in the Ayegbami area of Ijebu-Ode over a dispute.
In a statement made available to journalists on Sunday, March 1, 2020, Ogun Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Abimbola Oyeyemi said Okata was arrested at the Mobalufon junction motor park, while fleeing to his village in Ebonyi.
According to Oyeyemi, the suspect reportedly dealt machete blows on Oladipo during a minor argument on Friday, February 28, which led to her death.
Oyeyemi said the suspect was arrested following a report by the deceased’s brother at the Obalende Police Station, Ijebu-Ode.
The brother reported that his sister, who resides in the Ayegbami area of the town, was cut with a machete by her neighbour over a minor argument.
The PPRO added that the complainant told the police that the suspect ran away immediately after the incident.
Oyeyemi’s statement read, “Upon the report, the DPO, Obalende Division, CSP Omonijo Sunday, mobilised his detectives to the scene, where the corpse of the victim was recovered and taken to the Ijebu-Ode General Hospital mortuary for autopsy.
“A serious manhunt was launched for the fleeing suspect. The efforts of the detectives yielded a positive result on Sunday, March 1, 2020, when the suspect was about to board an Ebonyi State bound vehicle, but he was apprehended by policemen, who had already laid an ambush for him due to intelligence information that they already had about him.
“On interrogation, the suspect, who hails from Onueke in the Eza South Local Government Area of Ebonyi State, confessed to dealing machete blows on the deceased, because she accused him of stealing a phone, which infuriated him.
“He confessed further that he cut off the woman’s two hands because she wanted to struggle with him and collect the machete.”
Oyeyemi added that the Commissioner of Police in the state, Kenneth Ebrimson, had ordered the immediate transfer of the suspect to the homicide section of the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department (SCIID) for further investigation and prosecution.